Yellapur: At least six people were killed and three others sustained critical injuries after a Tufan Cruiser carrying tourists collided head-on with a lorry near Balgar on the Arabail Ghat stretch in Yellapur taluk of Uttara Kannada district early on Thursday.

According to sources, five occupants of the utility vehicle died on the spot, while another succumbed to injuries while being shifted to a hospital. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.

The deceased have been identified as Basavaraj (48), Abhishek Eshwar (28), Akshay (26), Abhishek (26) and Sanjay Angadi. Another victim died while being shifted to hospital, taking the death toll to six.

The injured have been identified as Shivraj Durgappa Madival (22), Manjunath Ashok Chulaki (32), Sachin, and Channabasayya Basalingayya Sampagaon (28).

Preliminary investigation revealed that all the victims were residents of Dharwad district and were working as part-time delivery executives with a leading online food delivery platform in Bengaluru.

According to police the group had left Dharwad on Wednesday night for Chikkamagaluru. Their journey ended in tragedy when their vehicle collided with an oncoming lorry while passing through the Arabail Ghat section on Naional Highway 52, in the early hours of Thursday.

The impact of the collision was severe, leaving the Cruiser extensively damaged and trapping several occupants inside. Local residents, police personnel and emergency responders launched a rescue operation, extricating the occupants from the mangled vehicle before shifting the injured to hospital. The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem examination.

Yellapur Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the cause of the accident.